Project
Call for Partners | AgrihortiPlastics – circular and non-accumulating cultivation aids
Plastic products play a crucial role in our modern agri- and horticultural processes as their unique functionalities make cultivation more efficient and effective. However, after their functional lifetime difficulties to reuse or recycle the plastic products often arise. This leads to material losses and plastic accumulation, as well as pollution of soils and waters. The AgriHortiPlastics project aims to effectively close the loop for plastic products used in agri- and horticulture to lower the use of fossil carbon and prevent plastic contamination of soil or natural waters. We will do this by demonstrating the development and applicability of plastic cultivation aids that are designed for optimal performance during use and end-of-life.
The project will develop methods and products for applications within both greenhouses and open fields. Within these two cultivation environments, different end-of-life scenarios of plastics will be explored, such as mechanical recycling, industrial composting and programmed biodegradation in soil.
Specific attention will be given to cultivation related issues that complicate closed loop recycling (e.g. contamination of plant viruses) and new strategies to program the biodegradation rate of compostable plastics in order to match crop-specific cultivation cycles.
Focus and objective
Within all EOL-environment combinations, specific cases will be studied that have the aim to either optimize the current circular use of plastic for these applications or develop entirely new products with improved EOL characteristics. In doing so, newly implemented agricultural plastic recycling loops, optimized recycling processes and new biodegradable (both compostable and in soil) products with programmed biodegradable characteristics in soil will be developed.
The project builds on the decision support tool that was developed during an earlier project (LWV21192). This tool can be used by policy officers, plastic supply chain industries, farmers and growers to select the best performing plastic for a specific application. Results from this new project will be used to update and reinforce this decision tool.
We are looking for project partners that want to enhance the circularity of their plastic cultivation aids and we aim to connect product suppliers, growers and recyclers.